The legal desk

Notes on the practice of law.

Essays and practice notes for legal professionals — legal writing, research technique, and the honest, practical side of lawyering in a fast-changing world.

6 articles · legal research, practice & the profession

AI for Contract Review: What Machines Get Right and What They Miss

Clause extraction, risk flags, and compliance playbook scanning — plus the honest limits where human judgment is irreplaceable.

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How to Use AI for Legal Research Ethically

ABA Formal Opinion 512, competence and supervision duties, and a five-step verification workflow that survives scrutiny.

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Will AI Replace Lawyers? What the Data Actually Says

Adoption statistics show AI replaces tasks, not judgment. What the redistribution of legal work means for your career.

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Attorney–Client Privilege and AI: Where Does Your Client's Data Go?

The three ways client data can leak, what "private AI" really means, and how local processing protects confidentiality.

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Can You Trust an AI for Legal Research?

Why legal AI hallucinates fake citations, how grounded retrieval fixes it, and the verification habit that separates a tool from a malpractice risk.

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Welcome to the Legal Desk — Notes for the Modern Practitioner

Why this blog exists, what you'll find here, and how these notes are written — plainly, for lawyers who value their time and their craft.

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